Week 26 (Book 6): Reviewing the Week of Rosh Chodesh Nissan - Psalms 76-78; 77:16-18; 89:27

PSALMS (Introductions and Translations from Chabad.org):

Chapter 76

This psalm contains the prophecy of when the vast army of Sennacherib was seized with a deep slumber that rendered the hands of the soldiers powerless to raise their weapons; thus did they all fall in battle.

1. For the Conductor, with instrumental music, a psalm by Asaph, a song. 2. G-d is known in Judah, His Name is great in Israel. 3. His Tabernacle was in Shalem,1 and His dwelling place in Zion. 4. There He broke the flying arrows of the bow, the shield, the sword and battle-forever. 5. You are illumination, mightier than the mountains of prey. 6. The stout-hearted were without sense, they slept their sleep, and all the warriors were unable to find their strength. 7. At Your rebuke, O G-d of Jacob, chariot and horse were stunned. 8. You, awesome are You! Who can stand before You once You are enraged. 9. From heaven You let the verdict be heard; the earth feared and was still, 10. when G-d rose to pass judgment, to save all the humble of the earth forever. 11. The anger of man will cause us to thank You;2 You will restrain the residue of wrath. 12. Make vows to the Lord your G-d and fulfill them; all who surround Him will bring tribute to the Awesome One. 13. He cuts down the spirit of nobles; He is awesome to the kings of the earth.

Chapter 77

1. For the Conductor, on the yedutun,1 by Asaph, a psalm. 2. [I raise] my voice to G-d and cry out; [I raise] my voice to G-d and He will listen to me. 3. On the day of my distress I sought my Lord. My wound oozes at night and does not abate; my soul refuses to be consoled. 4. I remember G-d and I moan; I speak and my spirit faints, Selah. 5. You grasped my eyelids; I am broken, I cannot speak. 6. I think of olden days, of ancient years. 7. During the night I recall my music, I meditate with my heart, and my spirit searches: 8. Is it for eternity that my Lord forsakes [me], nevermore to be appeased? 9. Has His kindness ceased forever? Has He sealed the decree for all generations? 10. Has G-d forgotten mercy? Has He in anger restrained His compassion forever? 11. I said, "It is to ter- rify me that the right hand of the Most High changes.” 12. I remember the deeds of Yah, when I remember Your wonders of long ago. 13. I meditate on all Your works, and speak of Your deeds. 14. O G-d, Your way is in sanctity; what G-d is as great as G-d? 15. You are the G-d Who works wonders; You make Your might known among the nations. 16. You redeemed Your people with a mighty arm, the children of Jacob and Joseph, Selah. 17. The waters2 saw You, O G-d, the waters saw You and trembled; even the deep shuddered. 18. The clouds streamed water, the heavens sounded forth, even Your arrows flew about. 19. The sound of Your thunder was in the rolling wind; lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. 20. Your way was through the sea, Your path through the mighty waters; and Your footsteps were not known.3 21. You led Your people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron

Chapter 78

This psalm recounts all the miracles that G-d wrought for Israel, from the exodus of Egypt to David's becoming king over Israel.

1. A maskil1 by Asaph. Listen, my people, to my teaching; incline your ear to the words of my mouth. 2. I will open my mouth with a parable, I will utter riddles of long ago; 3. that which we have heard and know [to be true], and that our fathers have told us. 4. We will not withhold from their children, telling the final generation the praises of the Lord, and His might, and the wonders He has performed. 5. He established a testimony in Jacob, and set down the Torah in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to make known to their children, 6. so that the last generation shall know; children yet to be born will rise and tell their children, 7. and they shall put their hope in G-d, and not forget the works of the Almighty; and they shall guard His commandments. 8. And they shall not be like their fathers, a wayward and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set its heart straight, and whose spirit was not faithful to G-d. 9. The children of Ephraim, armed archers, retreated on the day of battle.2 10. They did not keep the covenant of G-d, and refused to follow His Torah. 11. They forgot His deeds and His wonders that He had shown them. 12. He performed wonders before their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.3 13. He split the sea and brought them across; He erected the waters like a wall. 14. He led them with a cloud by day, and all night long with the light of fire. 15. He split rocks in the wilderness, and gave them to drink as if from the abundant depths. 16. And He brought forth flowing waters from the rock, and caused waters to descend like rivers. 17. Yet they again continued to sin against Him, to provoke the Most High in the parched land. 18. And they tested G-d in their hearts, by requesting food for their craving. 19. They spoke against G-d; they said, "Can G-d set a table in the wilderness? 20. True, He hit the rock and waters flowed, streams gushed forth; but can He also give bread? Will He prepare meat for His people?” 21. And so the Lord heard and was enraged; a fire was kindled against Jacob; wrath, too, flared against Israel. 22. For they did not believe in G-d and did not trust in His salvation, 23. [though] He had commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven. 24. He had rained upon them manna to eat, and given them grain of heaven. 25. Man ate the bread of angels; He sent them [enough] provisions to satiate. 26. He drove the east wind through the heaven, and led the south wind with His might. 27. He rained meat upon them like dust, winged birds like the sand of seas; 28. and He dropped them inside His camp, around His dwellings. 29. And they ate and were very satiated, for He brought them their desire. 30. They were not yet estranged from their craving, their food was still in their mouths, 31. when the wrath of G-d rose against them and slew their mighty ones, and brought down the chosen of Israel. 32. Despite this, they sinned again, and did not believe in His wonders; 33. so He ended their days in futility, and their years in terror. 34. When He slew them they would seek Him, they would return and pray to G-d. 35. They remembered that G-d is their rock, G-d the Most High, their redeemer. 36. But they beguiled Him with their mouth, and deceived Him with their tongue. 37. Their heart was not steadfast with Him; they were not faithful to His covenant. 38. Yet He is compassionate, pardons iniquity, and does not destroy; time and again He turns away His anger, and does not arouse all His wrath. 39. He remembered that they were but flesh, a spirit that leaves and does not return. 40. How often they provoked Him in the desert, and grieved Him in the wasteland! 41. Again and again they tested G-d, and sought a sign from the Holy One of Israel. 42. They did not remember His hand, the day He redeemed them from the oppressor; 43. that He set His signs in Egypt, and His wonders in the field of Zoan. 44. He turned their rivers to blood, and made their flowing waters undrinkable. 45. He sent against them a mixture of beasts which devoured them, and frogs that destroyed them. 46. He gave their produce to the grasshopper, and their toil to the locust. 47. He killed their vines with hail, and their sycamores with biting frost. 48. He delivered their animals to the hail, and their livestock to fiery bolts. 49. He sent against them His fierce anger, fury, rage, and affliction; a delegation of messengers of evil. 50. He leveled a path for His anger, and did not spare their soul from death; He delivered their animals to pestilence. 51. He struck every firstborn in Egypt, the first fruit of their strength in the tents of Ham.4 52. He drove His nation like sheep, and guided them like a flock in the desert. 53. He led them in security and they did not fear, for the sea covered their enemies. 54. And He brought them to the boundary of His holy place, this mountain which His right hand acquired. 55. He drove out nations before them, and allotted them an inheritance [measured] by the cord; He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents. 56. Yet they tested and defied G-d, the Most High, and did not keep His testimonies. 57. They regressed and rebelled like their fathers; they turned around like a deceptive bow. 58. They angered Him with their high altars, and provoked Him with their idols. 59. G-d heard and was enraged, and He was utterly disgusted with Israel; 60. And He abandoned the Tabernacle of Shilo, the Tent where He had dwelled among men. 61. He put His might into captivity, and His glory into the hand of the oppressor. 62. He delivered His nation to the sword, and was enraged with His inheritance. 63. Fire consumed His young men, and His maidens had no marriage song. 64. His priests fell by the sword, and their widows did not weep.5 65. And the Lord awoke like one who had been asleep, like a warrior shouting [to sober himself] from wine. 66. He beat His enemies into retreat, and dealt them eternal disgrace. 67. He was disgusted with the tent of Joseph, and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim. 68. He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loves. 69. And He built His Sanctuary [permanent as] the heavens; like the earth, He established it forever. 70. And He chose David His servant, and took him from the sheep corrals. 71. From following the nursing ewes, He brought Him to shepherd His nation Jacob, Israel His inheritance. 72. And he tended them with the integrity of his heart, and led them with the skill of his hands.

TIKKUN HAKLALI

Chapter 77

16. You redeemed Your people with Your arm, the sons of Jacob and Joseph forever. 17. The waters perceived You, O G-d, the waters perceived You, they trembled, even the deeps quaked. 18. They poured forth thick waters; the skies let out a voice, even your arrows went abroad.

PSALM 89

27. He will call to Me, 'You are my Father, my G-d, and the Rock of my salvation.'   

Week 27 (Book 6): Reviewing the Second week of Nissan - Psalms 79-81; 77:19-21; 89:28

PSALMS (Introductions and Translations from Chabad.org):

Chapter 79

In this psalm, Asaph thanks G-d for sparing the people and directing His wrath upon the wood and stones (of the Temple). Still he cries bitterly, mourning the immense destruction: The place where the High Priest alone was allowed to enter-and only on Yom Kippur-is now so desolate that foxes stroll through it!

1. A psalm by Asaph. O G-d, nations have entered Your inheritance, they defiled Your Holy Sanctuary; they turned Jerusalem into heaps of rubble. 2. They have rendered the corpses of Your servants as food for the birds of heaven, the flesh of Your pious ones for the beasts of the earth. 3. They spilled their blood like water around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury [them]. 4. We became the object of disgrace to our neighbors, ridicule and scorn to those around us. 5. Until when, O Lord! Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire? 6. Pour Your wrath upon the nations that do not know You, upon the kingdoms that do not call Your Name, 7. for they devoured Jacob and desolated His abode. 8. Do not recall our former sins; let Your mercies come swiftly towards us, for we have fallen very low. 9. Help us, G-d of our deliverance, for the sake of the glory of Your Name; save us and pardon our sins for the sake of Your Name. 10. Why should the nations say, "Where is their G-d?" Let there be known among the nations, before our eyes, the retribution of the spilled blood of Your servants. 11. Let the groan of the prisoner come before You; liberate those condemned to death, as befits the greatness of Your strength. 12. Repay our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom, for the disgrace with which they reviled You, O Lord. 13. And we, Your people, the flock of Your pasture, will thank You forever; for all generations we will recount Your praise.

Chapter 80

An awe-inspiring prayer imploring G-d to draw near to us as in days of old.

1. For the Conductor, on the shoshanim, 1 a testimony by Asaph, a psalm. 2. Listen, O Shepherd of Israel, Who leads Joseph like sheep. Appear, You Who is enthroned upon the cherubim. 3. Arouse Your might before Ephraim, Benjamin and Menashe, for it is upon You to save us. 4. Return us, O G-d; cause Your countenance to shine, that we may be saved. 5. O Lord, G-d of Hosts, until when will You fume at the prayer of Your people? 6. You fed them bread of tears, and gave them tears to drink in great measure. 7. You have made us an object of strife to our neighbors; our enemies mock to themselves. 8. Return us, O G-d of Hosts; cause Your countenance to shine, that we may be saved. 9. You brought a vine out of Egypt; You drove out nations and planted it. 10. You cleared space before it; it took root and filled the land. 11. Mountains were covered by its shade, and its branches became mighty cedars. 12. It sent forth its branches till the sea, and its tender shoots to the river. 13. Why did You breach its fences, so that every passerby plucked its fruit? 14. The boars of the forest ravage it, and the creepers of the field feed upon it. 15. O G-d of Hosts, please return! Look down from heaven and see, and be mindful of this vine, 16. and of the foundation which Your right hand has planted, and the son whom You strengthened for Yourself. 17. It is burned by fire, cut down; they perish at the rebuke of Your Presence. 18. Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, upon the son of man whom You strengthened for Yourself. 19. Then we will not withdraw from You; revive us, and we will proclaim Your Name. 20. O Lord, G-d of Hosts, return us; cause Your countenance to shine that we may be saved.

Chapter 81

This psalm was chanted in the Holy Temple on Rosh Hashanah, a day on which many miracles were wrought for Israel.

1. For the Conductor, upon the gittit,1 by Asaph. 2. Sing joyously to G-d, our strength; sound the shofar to the G-d of Jacob. 3. Raise your voice in song, sound the drum, the pleasant harp, and the lyre. 4. Blow the shofar on the New Month, on the designated day of our Holy Day; 5. for it is a decree for Israel, a ruling of the G-d of Jacob. 6. He ordained it as a precept for Joseph when he went forth over the land of Egypt; I heard a language which I did not know. 7. I have taken his shoulder from the burden; his hands were removed from the pot.2 8. In distress you called and I delivered you; [you called] in secret, and I answered you with thunderous wonders; I tested you at the waters of Merivah, Selah. 9. Hear, My people, and I will admonish you; Israel, if you would only listen to Me! 10. You shall have no alien G-d within you, nor shall you bow down to a foreign deity. 11. I am the Lord your G-d who brought you up from the land of Egypt; open wide your mouth, [state all your desires,] and I shall grant them. 12. But My people did not heed My voice; Israel did not want [to listen to] Me. 13. So I sent them away for the willfulness of their heart, for following their [evil] design. 14. If only My people would listen to Me, if Israel would only walk in My ways, 15. then I would quickly subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their oppressors. 16. Those who hate the Lord would shrivel before Him, and the time [of their retribution] shall be forever. 17. I would feed him [Israel] with the finest of wheat, and sate you with honey from the rock. 

TIKKUN HAKLALI

Chapter 77

19. The sound of Your thunder was in the rolling wind; lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. 20. Your way was through the sea, Your path through the mighty waters; and Your footsteps were not known. 21. You led Your people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron. 

PSALM 89

28. I will also make him [My] firstborn, supreme over the kings of the earth.

Week 28 (Book 6): Reviewing the Third Week of Nissan - Psalms 82-84; 90:1-4; 89:29

PSALMS (Introductions and Translations from Chabad.org):

Chapter 82

This psalm admonishes those judges who feign ignorance of the law, dealing unjustly with the pauper or the orphan, while coddling the rich and pocketing their bribes.

1. A psalm by Asaph. G-d stands in the council of judges; among the judges He renders judgment: 2. How long will you judge wickedly, ever showing partiality toward the evildoers? 3. Render justice to the needy and the orphan; deal righteously with the poor and the destitute. 4. Rescue the needy and the pauper; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. 5. But they do not know, nor do they understand; they go about in darkness, [therefore] all the foundations of the earth tremble. 6. I said that you are angels, supernal beings, all of you; 7. but you will die as mortals, you will fall like any prince. 8. Arise, O G-d, judge the earth, for You possess all the nations.

Chapter 83

A prayer regarding the wars against Israel in the days of Jehoshaphat, when the nations plotted against Israel.

1. A song, a psalm by Asaph. 2. O G-d, do not be silent; do not be quiet and do not be still, O G-d. 3. For behold, Your enemies are in uproar, and those who hate You have raised their head. 4. They plot deviously against Your nation, and conspire against those sheltered by You. 5. They say, "Come, let us sever them from nationhood, and the name of Israel will be remembered no more.” 6. For they conspire with a unanimous heart, they made a covenant against You- 7. the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites, 8. Geval and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre. 9. Assyria, too, joined with them, and became the strength of the sons of Lot, Selah. 10. Do to them as to Midian; as to Sisera and Yavin at the brook of Kishon, 11. who were destroyed at Ein Dor, and were as dung for the earth. 12. Make their nobles like Orev and Ze'ev, all their princes like Zevach and Tzalmuna,1 13. who said, "Let us inherit the dwellings of G-d for ourselves.” 14. My G-d, make them like whirling chaff, like straw before the wind. 15. As a fire consumes the forest, and a flame sets the mountains ablaze, 16. so pursue them with Your tempest and terrify them with Your storm. 17. Fill their faces with shame, and they will seek Your Name, O Lord. 18. Let them be shamed and terrified forever; let them be disgraced and perish. 19. And they will know that You, Whose Name is the Lord, are alone, Most High over all the earth.

Chapter 84

In this psalm of prayers and entreaties, the psalmist mourns bitterly over the destruction of Temple from the depths of his heart, and speaks of the many blessings that will be realized upon its restoration. Fortunate is the one who trusts it will be rebuilt, and does not despair in the face of this long exile.

1. For the Conductor, on the gittit,1 a psalm by the sons of Korach. 2. How beloved are Your dwellings, O Lord of Hosts! 3. My soul yearns, indeed it pines, for the courtyards of the Lord; my heart and my flesh [long to] sing to the living G-d. 4. Even the bird has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she lays her young on the [ruins of] Your altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my G-d. 5. Fortunate are those who dwell in Your House; they will yet praise You forever. 6. Fortunate is the man whose strength is in You; the paths [to the Temple] are in his heart. 7. For those who pass through the Valley of Thorns, He places wellsprings; their guide will be cloaked in blessings.2 8. They go from strength to strength; they will appear before G-d in Zion. 9. O Lord, G-d of Hosts, hear my prayer; listen, O G-d of Jacob, forever. 10. See our shield,3 O G-d, and look upon the face of Your anointed one. 11. For better one day in Your courtyards than a thousand [elsewhere]. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my G-d, than dwell [in comfort] in the tents of wickedness. 12. For the Lord, G-d, is a sun and a shield; the Lord bestows favor and glory; He does not withhold goodness from those who walk in innocence. 13. O Lord of Hosts! Fortunate is the man who trusts in You.

TIKKUN HAKLALI

Chapter 90

1. A prayer of Moses, the man of G-d. O Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.
2. Before the mountains were born, and You brought forth the earth and the inhabited world, and from everlasting to everlasting, You are G-d.
3. You bring man to the crushing point, and You say, "Return, O sons of men."
4. For a thousand years are in Your eyes like yesterday, which passed, and a watch in the night.

PSALM 89

29. I will forever keep My kindness for him, and My covenant will remain true to him.  

Week 29 (Book 6): Reviewing the Fourth Week of Nissan - Psalms 85-87; 90:5-7; 89:30

PSALMS (Introductions and Translations from Chabad.org):

Chapter 85

In this prayer, lamenting the long and bitter exile, the psalmist asks why this exile is longer than the previous ones, and implores G-d to quickly fulfill His promise to redeem us. Every individual should offer this psalm when in distress.

1. For the Conductor, a psalm by the sons of Korach. 2. O Lord, You favored Your land; You returned the captives of Jacob. 3. You forgave the iniquity of Your people, and covered all their sin forever. 4. You withdrew all Your fury, and retreated from Your fierce anger. 5. Return us, O G-d of our salvation, and annul Your anger toward us. 6. Will You forever be angry with us? Will You draw out Your anger over all generations? 7. Is it not true that You will revive us again, and Your people will rejoice in You? 8. Show us Your kindness, O Lord, and grant us Your deliverance. 9. I hear what the Almighty Lord will say; for He speaks peace to His nation and to His pious ones, and they will not return to folly. 10. Indeed, His deliverance is near those who fear Him, that [His] glory may dwell in the land. 11. Kindness and truth have met; righteousness and peace have kissed. 12. Truth will sprout from the earth, and righteousness will peer from heaven. 13. The Lord, too, will bestow goodness, and our land will yield its produce. 14. Righteousness shall walk before him, and he shall set his footsteps in [its] path.

Chapter 86

This psalm contains many prayers regarding David's troubles, and his enemies Doeg and Achitophel. It also includes many descriptions of G-d's praise. Every individual can offer this psalm when in distress.

1. A prayer by David. Lord, turn Your ear, answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2. Guard my soul, for I am pious; You, my G-d, deliver Your servant who trusts in You. 3. Be gracious to me, my Lord, for to You I call all day. 4. Bring joy to the soul of Your servant, for to You, my Lord, I lift my soul. 5. For You, my Lord, are good and forgiving, and exceedingly kind to all who call upon You. 6. Lord, hear my prayer and listen to the voice of my supplications. 7. On the day of my distress I call upon You, for You will answer me. 8. There is none like You among the supernal beings, my Lord, and there are no deeds like Yours. 9. All the nations that You have made will come and bow down before You, my Lord, and give honor to Your Name, 10. for You are great and perform wonders, You alone, O G-d. 11. Lord, teach me Your way that I may walk in Your truth; unify my heart to fear Your Name. 12. I will praise You, my Lord, my G-d, with all my heart, and give honor to Your Name forever. 13. For Your kindness to me has been great; You have saved my soul from the depth of the grave. 14. O G-d, malicious men have risen against me; a band of ruthless men has sought my soul; they are not mindful of You. 15. But You, my Lord, are a compassionate and gracious G-d, slow to anger and abounding in kindness and truth. 16. Turn to me and be gracious to me; grant Your strength to Your servant, and deliver the son of Your maidservant. 17. Show me a sign of favor, that my foes may see and be shamed, because You, Lord, have given me aid and consoled me.

Chapter 87

Composed to be sung in the Holy Temple, this psalm praises the glory of Jerusalem, a city that produces many great scholars, eminent personalities, and persons of good deeds. It also speaks of the good that will occur in the Messianic era.

1. By the sons of Korach, a psalm, a song devoted to the holy mountains [of Zion and Jerusalem]. 2. The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. 3. Glorious things are spoken of you, eternal city of G-d. 4. I will remind Rahav Egypt and Babylon concerning My beloved; Philistia and Tyre as well as Ethiopia, "This one was born there.” 5. And to Zion will be said, "This person and that was born there"; and He, the Most High, will establish it. 6. The Lord will count in the register of people, "This one was born there," Selah. 7. Singers as well as dancers [will sing your praise and say], "All my inner thoughts are of you."

TIKKUN HAKLALI

Chapter 90

5. You carry them away as a flood; they are like a sleep; in the morning, like grass it passes away.
6. In the morning, it blossoms and passes away; in the evening, it is cut off and withers.
7. For we perish from Your wrath, and from Your anger we are dismayed.

PSALM 89

30. And I shall make his seed endure forever, and his throne as the days of the heavens.

Week 30 (Book 6): Reviewing the Fifth Week of Nissan - Psalms 88-90; 90:8-10; 89:31

PSALMS (Introductions and Translations from Chabad.org):

Chapter 88

The psalmist weeps and laments bitterly over the maladies and suffering Israel endures in exile, which he describes in detail.

1. A song, a psalm by the sons of Korach, for the Conductor, upon the machalat le'anot; 1 a maskil2 for Heiman the Ezrachite. 2. O Lord, G-d of my deliverance, by day I cried out [to You], by night I [offer my prayer] before You. 3. Let my prayer come before You; turn Your ear to my supplication. 4. For my soul is sated with affliction, and my life has reached the grave. 5. I was reckoned with those who go down to the pit, I was like a man without strength. 6. [I am regarded] among the dead who are free, like corpses lying in the grave, of whom You are not yet mindful, who are yet cut off by Your hand. 7. You have put me into the lowest pit, into the darkest places, into the depths. 8. Your wrath has weighed heavily upon me, and all the waves [of Your fury] have constantly afflicted me. 9. You have estranged my friends from me, You have made me abhorrent to them; I am imprisoned and unable to leave. 10. My eye is afflicted because of distress; I call to You, O Lord, every day; I have stretched out my hands [in prayer] to You. 11. Do You perform wonders for the deceased? Do the dead stand to offer You praise? Selah. 12. Is Your kindness recounted in the grave, your faithfulness in the place of perdition? 13. Are Your wondrous deeds known in the darkness [of the grave], or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion? 14. But, I, to You, O Lord, I cry; each morning my prayer comes before You. 15. Why, O Lord, do You forsake my soul? Why do You conceal Your countenance from Me? 16. From my youth I have been afflicted and approaching death, yet I have borne the fear of You which is firmly established within me. 17. Your furies have passed over me; Your terrors have cut me down. 18. They have engulfed me like water all day long, they all together surrounded me. 19. You have estranged from me beloved and friend; I have been rejected by my intimates.

Chapter 89

This psalm speaks of the kingship of the House of David, the psalmist lamenting its fall from power for many years, and G-d's abandonment and spurning of us.

1. A maskil1 by Eitan the Ezrachite. 2. I will sing of the Lord's kindness forever; to all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth. 3. For I have said, "The world is built with kindness; there in the heavens You establish Your faithfulness.” 4. I have made a covenant with My chosen one; I have sworn to David, My servant: 5. "I will establish Your descendants forever; I will build your throne for all generations," Selah. 6. Then the heavens will extol Your wonders, O Lord; Your faithfulness, too, in the congregation of the holy ones. 7. Indeed, who in heaven can be compared to the Lord, who among the supernal beings can be likened to the Lord! 8. The Almighty is revered in the great assembly of the holy ones, awe-inspiring to all who surround Him. 9. O Lord, G-d of Hosts, who is mighty like You, O G-d! Your faithfulness surrounds You. 10. You rule the vastness of the sea; when its waves surge, You still them. 11. You crushed Rahav (Egypt) like a corpse; with Your powerful arm You scattered Your enemies. 12. Yours are the heavens, the earth is also Yours; the world and all therein-You established them. 13. The north and the south-You created them; Tabor and Hermon sing of [the greatness] of Your Name. 14. Yours is the arm which has the might; strengthen Your hand, raise high Your right hand. 15. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; kindness and truth go before Your countenance. 16. Fortunate is the people who know the sound of the shofar; Lord, they walk in the light of Your countenance. 17. They rejoice in Your Name all day, and they are exalted through Your righteousness. 18. Indeed, You are the splendor of their might, and in Your goodwill our glory is exalted. 19. For our protectors turn to the Lord, and our king to the Holy One of Israel. 20. Then You spoke in a vision to Your pious ones and said: "I have granted aid to [David] the mighty one; I have exalted the one chosen from among the people. 21. I have found David, My servant; I have anointed him with My holy oil. 22. It is he whom My hand shall be prepared [to assist]; My arm, too, shall strengthen him. 23. The enemy shall not prevail over him, nor shall the iniquitous person afflict him. 24. And I will crush his adversaries before him, and will strike down those who hate him. 25. Indeed, My faithfulness and My kindness shall be with him, and through My Name his glory shall be exalted. 26. I will set his hand upon the sea, his right hand upon the rivers. 27. He will call out to Me, 'You are my Father, my G-d, the strength of my deliverance.’ 28. I will also make him [My] firstborn, supreme over the kings of the earth. 29. I will maintain My kindness for him forever; My covenant shall remain true to him. 30. And I will bestow [kingship] upon his seed forever, and his throne will endure as long as the heavens last. 31. If his children forsake My Torah and do not walk in My ordinances; 32. if they profane My statutes and do not observe My commandments, 33. then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their misdeeds with plagues. 34. Yet I shall not take away My kindness from him, nor betray My faithfulness. 35. I will not abrogate My covenant, nor change that which has issued from My lips. 36. One thing I have sworn by My holiness-I will not cause disappointment to David. 37. His seed will endure forever and his throne will be [resplendent] as the sun before Me. 38. Like the moon, it shall be established forever; [the moon] is a faithful witness in the sky for all time.” 39. Yet You have forsaken and abhorred; You became enraged at Your anointed. 40. You annulled the covenant with Your servant; You have profaned his crown [by casting it] to the ground. 41. You shattered all his fences; You turned all his strongholds into ruin. 42. All wayfarers despoiled him; he has become a disgrace to his neighbors. 43. You have uplifted the right hand of his adversaries; You have made all his enemies rejoice. 44. You also turned back the blade of his sword, and did not sustain him in battle. 45. You put an end to his splendor, and toppled his throne to the ground. 46. You have cut short the days of his youth; You have enclothed him with long-lasting shame. 47. How long, O Lord, will You conceal Yourself-forever? [How long] will Your fury blaze like fire? 48. O remember how short is my life span! Why have You created all children of man for naught? 49. What man can live and not see death, can save his soul forever from the grave? 50. Where are Your former deeds of kindness, my Lord, which You swore to David in Your faithfulness? 51. Remember, my Lord, the disgrace of Your servants, that I bear in my bosom from all the many nations; 52. that Your enemies have disgraced, O Lord, that they have disgraced the footsteps of Your anointed. 53. Blessed is the Lord forever, Amen and Amen.

Chapter 90

David found this prayer in its present form-receiving a tradition attributing it to MosesThe Midrash attributes the next eleven psalms to Moses (Rashi).-and incorporated it into the Tehillim. It speaks of the brevity of human life, and inspires man to repent and avoid pride in this world.

1. A prayer by Moses, the man of G-d. My Lord, You have been a shelter for us in every generation. 2. Before the mountains came into being, before You created the earth and the world-for ever and ever You are Almighty G-d. 3. You diminish man until he is crushed, and You say, "Return, you children of man.” 4. Indeed, a thousand years are in Your eyes like yesterday that has passed, like a watch of the night. 5. The stream of their life is as but a slumber; in the morning they are like grass that sprouts anew. 6. In the morning it thrives and sprouts anew; in the evening it withers and dries. 7. For we are consumed by Your anger, and destroyed by Your wrath. 8. You have set our wrongdoings before You, our hidden sins before the light of Your countenance. 9. For all our days have vanished in Your wrath; we cause our years to pass like a fleeting sound. 10. The days of our lives number seventy years, and if in great vigor, eighty years; most of them are but travail and futility, passing quickly and flying away. 11. Who can know the intensity of Your anger? Your wrath is commensurate with one's fear of You. 12. Teach us, then, to reckon our days, that we may acquire a wise heart. 13. Relent, O Lord; how long [will Your anger last]? Have compassion upon Your servants. 14. Satiate us in the morning with Your kindness, then we shall sing and rejoice throughout our days. 15. Give us joy corresponding to the days You afflicted us, the years we have seen adversity. 16. Let Your work be revealed to Your servants, and Your splendor be upon their children. 17. May the pleasantness of the Lord our G-d be upon us; establish for us the work of our hands; establish the work of our hands.

TIKKUN HAKLALI

Chapter 90

8. You have set our wrongdoings before You, our hidden sins before the light of Your countenance.
9. For all our days have vanished in Your wrath; we cause our years to pass like a fleeting sound. 
10. The days of our lives number seventy years, and if in great vigor, eighty years; most of them are but travail and futility, passing quickly and flying away.

PSALM 89

31. If his children forsake My Torah and do not walk in My ordinances;